DraftExpress has learned that Cincinnati North College Hill star Bill Walker has graduated high school early and obtained a qualifying standardized test score, and plans to enroll at Kansas State. The only thing that could possibly hold Walker back is the NCAA Clearinghouse, however his paperwork has already been sent in and no red flags are expected.

This ends the long and crazy saga that has followed Walker over the last year. After winning his second straight Ohio state championship in March, rumors began to swirl around that the high flying wing had actually played in 16 games as a freshman for Rose Hill Christian in Kentucky during the 2002-2003 season. The Ohio High School Athletic Association rules state that once a player enrolls in high school, his eligibility clock begins running and lasts for eight semesters. The OHSAA has been incredibly strict on this rule, so it was not likely that Walker would win his appeal attempt.

Bill Walker

Bill hired Bob Huggins' attorney (and Jason Maxiell's NBA agent), Richard Katz, to represent his case. They claimed that the paperwork submitted by Rose Hill Christian was altered, and that Walker was indeed in his proper grade. In August, the OHSAA denied the seniorís appeal, and he stated that instead of transferring elsewhere out of the state of Ohio to play basketball, he would remain at North College Hill to finish his academic career.

Rumblings came out early this spring that the 6-foot-6 athletic marvel was going to attempt to graduate early and play for Huggins at K-State, but there was an extended period of silence out of Walkerís camp since this was reported. Countless phone calls to his camp were not returned to anyone in the media during this time, so everyone was forced to sit back and see what resulted.

The D-1 Greyhounds star will attempt to enroll in Manhattan this semester if possible, but will certainly be in classes by the time second semester begins. This now eliminates any doubt as to Walkerís availability to be selected in the 2007 NBA Draft, as it has been established that his original high school graduating class was 2006 and he will have a year of college basketball under his belt. Draft fans and scouts alike will certainly be following Bill throughout his time in Manhattan, due to the fact that he might be the most physically imposing wing prospect to come out of high school since LeBron James, and has terrific NBA potential with further development of his perimeter skills.